Of the various terms by which the present might readily be defined, "uncertainty" ranks high on the list. Numerous concerns come to mind: the Iraqi quagmire; pending change in Israeli leadership and possible Mideast implications; Islamic terrorism; geophysical and climatological instability; threatening political scandal in this country, ad infinitum.
This past week we received an e-mail proposing that the present state of affairs is to be seen as confirming the imminence of Christ's return. This, of course, has been the uninterrupted emphasis of the Pre-tribulation Rapture school since its inception some two hundred years ago. As such, no small question arises as to how the distinctive points of reference essential to one's "discerning of the times" are to be found in a perpetually present state.
While the "day and hour" of his return remains undecipherable, Jesus both exhorts an alert awareness as to the essential time of his coming ("know," Matt. 24:33,36), and does so within a clearly outlined frame of reference. It had all begun with the Disciple's query of Matthew 24:3: "What shall be the sign of your coming?" - the occurrence of which they rightly foresaw as relating to "the end of the age."
In answering their question, Jesus presents the time of the end in terms of progressive confusion, error, turmoil and violence. Beginning with a "hearing of wars and rumors of wars" (Matt. 24:6), the age concludes with a final state of cataclysm wherein human annihilation is avoided only by divine intervention (Matt. 24:22). "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man (that "sign" of which the Twelve had made inquiry in verse 3) in the sky... and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:30,31).
Jesus further states that the "sign" of his coming will appear immediately after the darkening of the sun and moon, "falling of stars," and shaking of "the powers of the heavens" (vs. 29). He continues: "when you [i.e., the Twelve as representative of the Church] see all these things [including a universal hatred of believers, Matt. 10:22; 24:9, and ascension of the Antichrist to world rule, 24:15f], then "know that it [the sign of Christ's coming] is near, even at the doors" (Matt. 24:33).
Three necessary points: 1.) Nowhere in Jesus' "Olivet Discourse" is mention made of a temporary Pre-tribulation transfer of believers to heaven; 2.) Nowhere (as contrasted to "Pre-trib" proposal) is there a time line division wherein the first portion of Christ's Discourse relates to a "Rapture of the Church" and the latter portion to an ingathering of post-Rapture Jewish converts and, finally; 3.) Paul specifically defines "our gathering together unto Him," (Matt. 24:31; II Thess. 2:1) as occurring in conjunction with Christ's coming in judgment of an evil, apostate world ("in flaming fire," II Thess. 1:6-10). Correlative to our Lord's Discourse, Paul similarly knows nothing of a temporary transfer of believers to heaven some seven years prior.
What about our Pre-trib brother? Like him, we too desire the day of Christ's return. In the meantime, there are given points of insight that we are to "know" (again Matt. 24:33) - matters of certainty by which to better understand and confront that which lies ahead.
Burl Ratzsch
